Dum Spiro, Spero
by dorfchaosgenie
Summary: Two years after Scorpia Rising Alex had a new life full of friends and family. But when a ghost from his past resurfaces, it turns his world upside down again.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

He ran. He ran like he hadn't had in years. Adrenalin was pumping through his veins. His breath came in shallow huffs, his legs were burning. But he kept running.

'No!' his mind was screaming 'Nonononono! This can't be happening! Not now, not ever! Sabina! Liz! Edward! Noooo!'

He stumbled running downhills, but he caught himself and kept running. He didn't look left nor right while he ran across the streets, cars were honking at him, but he couldn't hear them. His mind was set on his destination. 'Just two more turns. Please be fine!'

He turned at the last corner and ran towards the two story house he had called his home for the last two years. Screaming Sabina's, Liz's and Edward's names, he pushed himself over his limits. He believed to see Sabina at her window when he was pushed backwards, off his feet, to the ground.

For a minute he saw nothing and heard nothing, everything was tinted in blackness. A moment later he got to his feet, still not hearing, heat burning on his skin, sight fuzzy. 'Heat?' He shook his head, trying to clear his sight, and stumbled forward.

Before him the world was a raging hell. Flames were consuming the house that held precious memories. Slowly his hearing returned. He heard sirens in the distance and someone was screaming. He realised, when he fell to his knees, that it was him screaming at the top of his lungs. He shut his mouth and felt the tears falling freely down his face.

After that everything seemed to blur together. Just one thought remained the whole time.

'Why?'

 **A/N: Yes? No? R+R please :) First chapter will be up tomorrow.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, sadly.**

"So, tell me Alex, how do you feel on your first day as a senior?" Sabina asked when she walked into the kitchen. She gave her parents each a peck on the cheek with a mumbled _morning_ , before she sat down opposite of the fair haired teen.

Edward Pleasure answered with "Good morning sweetie." before he was again engrossed in his daily morning reading of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Elizabeth Pleasure put down a glass of orange juice and a bowl of cereals in front of Sabina before sitting down too. "Why don't you let Alex eat first and interview him afterwards?" she laughed while she poured milk into her coffee.

"And why should I do that? Time is money! And remember last time I tried to interview him? He didn't really answer any of my questions and then he ran away with some lame excuse." Sabina shot a playful glare at Alex. Said person slowly swallowed the last bit of his breakfast before emptying his own cup of coffee.

He put the cup down carefully before turning to Sabina with a fake dazzling smile. "Well Ms. Pleasure, how might I feel on this wonderful morning? It's warm outside, the sun is shining and the birds are singing. Whatever could make my day better?"

Sabina smiled before playing along. "Mr. Rider" she started, holding her spoon in front of her like a microphone "Did it slip your mind that today on this fine Monday is your very first and very last first day as a high school senior? What are your feelings on the matter?" She straightened her arm, waggling the spoon in front of Alex's face.

"Oh no!" He exclaimed with mock shock. "How could this very important event in my life have possibly slipped my mind? Oh Lord, I failed you!". Throwing his hands up, he let out an exasperated sigh.

Sabina laughed and returned her spoon back to its rightful place in the cereal bowl. "Ok. Seriously, how do you feel? Last year of school, uh? Who would have thought that you even get this far?" she winked at him.

"Well, who would have thought you get into any college?" Alex shot back and was promptly met with a kick to the shin and another glare from his adoptive sister. He smirked before answering again, this time truthfully. "It's as you said. There was a time when I didn't think I would make it this far." Seeing the concerned faces of his family around him, he smiled reassuringly. "But here I am now. First day of my last year of high school and it's a beautiful day. I don't even care that it's a Monday. Right now I'm content with my life. But I won't make any promises for the evening. If I have to bear Mrs. Durcey for another year of modern history, I might not be that happy." The old teacher surely was a great person, but she was a bad teacher. She was speaking to the blackboard more then to the students in front of her. She could let her lessons drone over them without noticing a gunfight just outside the window.

Sabina grimaced. "So she is still there? I'm sorry for you."

Alex stood and began to pack his stuff in his school bag. "Of course she is still there. You only graduated a few month back, nothing changed since we last walked through the gates at your graduating ceremony."

"Poor Alex has to go to school all alone. Will he be ok?" she asked mockingly.

"Oh, I assure you, I will be just fine."

"Just do me a favour and try not to live in the shadow of the old seniors for too long, ok?"

"I'm pretty sure nobody is missing the old senior class."

"But surely they will remember me! The loving older sister of the miserable young British teen. The dazzling guardian angel with the charming looks."

"I'm not too sure of whom you might talking?"

They continued bickering until Liz stopped them, shooing Alex towards the door. "You are going to be late if you don't hurry up. Your first day of your last year and you are coming in late? Not on my watch!"

Alex shouted a last goodbye through the house, before he rushed towards the bus stop, the 'be safe' wishes of his adopted family ringing in his ears.

He was still astonished sometimes at how his life had changed in the past two years. Moving in with the Pleasures hadn't been easy at first. Alex battled with nightmares and PTSD, and it didn't help that he was not allowed to talk about the things that had happened to him on all his missions. The last one in Egypt left him with the deepest psychological scars and he knew that those would take the longest to heal.

There were nights when he awoke screaming and covered in cold sweat, and when he stood in front of his bathroom mirror he would see Julius and not himself. One night he punched the mirror, scattering it into thousands of pieces and Edward had to take him to the hospital to get his hand stitched up. Alex knew that those times weren't easy for his new family either. But they managed and somehow pulled trough.

One night - after he had awoken the other inhabitants of the house again - Sabina stayed with him, hugged him and cried for him when he couldn't cry himself. After that night, she became his older sister and he hadn't had romantic feelings for her ever since. Edward and Liz gave Alex comfort like he never knew it before. Even after months of being awoken in the middle of the night by his screams, they would sit with him in the mornings and evenings, just talking about the weather, places they wanted to visit, politics or other trivial things. Alex knew they were curious about his story but they never pried.

As the months past, Alex slowly got better. The normality helped. Sometimes, after a really bad nightmare or overall bad day, he would talk with Sabina, her being the only person that knew - to a certain point - about his spy life. She just sat with him and listened, giving him a hug when he finished, sometimes staying up with him the whole night afterwards just to talk and drink some tea.

He managed to slowly distance himself from Julius. He was not him. He hadn't killed Jack. The only person he had killed was a psychopath that had Alex's face. That fact probably triggered his dislike of mirrors of any kind, but he got through that too. He hadn't killed Jack, nor himself. He had killed Julius, who had killed Jack.

Alex didn't jump at every loud sound and was able to bond with kids his age at the high school he went to. He had friends and he had a family. Yes, he still was a bit paranoid and was keeping his body in shape just in case; and yes, he didn't trust easily. But overall he managed to have a normal life given his standards.

Alex reached the bus stop just as the bus came to a halt in front of it. He jumped inside and got two seats, one for himself and one for his friend Sam. The bus only took ten minutes and Alex used it solely for the purpose of meeting with his friends before school started. The route criss-crossed through his block and had a bus stop only meters from the school entrance.

"Morning Alex."

Alex turned his head towards the voice, meeting the grin of Sam. One of his better friends or probably his best friend in San Francisco. Technically, he still considered Tom Harris to be his best friend. They were still texting regularly and skypeing on the weekends. Alex really missed Tom. He missed his best friend with whom he could talk about everything, whether it was about teachers or MI6. Tom had moved to live with his brother in Italy for a year before both brothers had returned to London after their parents finally had gotten their divorce. They now lived in the same apartment building as their mother, visiting the father only a few times a month. Tom had even gone back to Brookland to finish school. Alex didn't miss his old school and all the gossip surrounding his person. He and Tom had plans to celebrate the New Year together in the bay area and he was looking forward to it, even though it was still months away.

"Morning Sam" Alex said as he scooted onto the seat beside him to make some room for his friend.

"Man, can you believe it? Seniors! We are now the kings of high school. Only one more year and we are out of the temple of mental torture and out of the grasps of Mrs. Durcey."

"No, not believing it either since there are some people around acting like freshman." Alex smirked at Sam who pulled a face. "You do realise that this isn't the end of mental torture? Or don't you want to go to college? That would be news to me. And I still have hope for a senior year without Mrs. Durcey."

"One can hope, yes." Sam laughed "Sadly though, I think that we will have the questionable pleasure of being in her care once again. I'm still planning to go to college, just so you know, but that will be different! Likeminded people, parties, ladies, moving out. It will be heaven!"

"Until we need to pay back our debts."

"Don't worry about that too much. We are both good candidates for scholarships, either for sports or our grades. I'm positive we will get some kind of funding."

Their stop came around and they stood to get off the bus.

Sam wasn't wrong. After Alex got his life under control once again, his grades went up. He joined the football team– 'soccer' he reminded himself, there had been some very funny conversations concerning the use of the words football and soccer – and soon became one of their best players. A few month back he made it on the honour roll, which was promptly celebrated with a feast together with his friends and family. Sam, too, was an honour student and played in the basketball team, being the giant he is. Alex didn't consider himself small. He was nearly 1.80 meters tall, but against Sam's' 1.95 - and growing - he felt small.

They both walked towards the school entrance, greeting friends and talking about this and that. First stop of the morning would be the assembly hall to be greeted by the principle with a short - but probably long – speech, before moving to their homeroom and receiving their schedules. While taking his seat, Alex sent out a last small prayer to whomever might be listening to be spared the horrors of Mrs. Durcey.

"Good Morning students." The principle soon started to address the assembled student body. "I sincerely hope you all had a most pleasant summer holiday and are now ready to face the new school year."

Alex soon tuned her out while she talked about projects she wanted to realise, events that were to happen and the importance of school – not only once but three times. Sam rolled his eyes ever so often at something she said. In the meantime Alex thought about his plans for the weekend. Edward's birthday would be on Saturday and Sabina and Alex were still unsure what to give him. Sabina was thinking about some kind of tie, but that wasn't really Alex's field. He was thinking about something more practical that would still show his gratitude towards the man for adopting him into his family. 'Maybe a new voice recorder' Alex thought. He stopped his musings sometime later to tune the principal's speech in again.

"…make the best of the new school year. There will only be on minor difference in the staff. Our school counsellor Mr. Sethers moved to Texas, so we now have a new counsellor with us. Mrs. Adams will be in her office starting today around lunch. With that done, I now dismiss you with the best wishes for your next year. Have a nice day." After the clapping Alex and his friends moved out to get to their respective homerooms.

"Wasn't that one hell of a compelling speech? I'm now definitely and completely motivated for the coming year." Sam snickered.

"At least your parents aren't breathing down your neck to be motivated and get good grades to get into a good college." Jason said, coming up behind them.

Sam padded his shoulder good naturedly "Some of us simply listen in class and do their homework."

Jason shoved his hand away. "Easy for you to say, Mr. Honour Roll. At least we now are seniors! Kings of the school." He pumped his fist in the air as they stepped into the classroom.

Alex sat next to Sam at the window, waiting for the actual day to begin. After getting his schedule his hopes were shattered as he had History with Mrs. Durcey first thing in the morning. He compared his schedule with Sam's to see how many courses they would share. Thankfully, they shared most of their classes and in the others Alex knew at least one person each he liked to some degree.

He made it through the day even if Mrs. Durcey's class was tempting him to fall back asleep. He caught up with Sam and some other friends, talking about what there were doing since the last time he had seen them. He went to his first soccer training of the year and was promoted to captain. When he exited the school after practice he was exhausted but overall happy. He was looking forward to the new school year and he would even bear with Mrs. Durcey's lessons, after all he did aim to get a scholarship for a good college.

The sun was shining on his face and it was pleasantly warm. 'No harm in walking home on this fine day' he thought. Standing at a traffic light his phone buzzed with an incoming text. Alex opened his phone and looked at the message from an unknown number.

'Is that a homemade pie in your kitchen? – S.'

Alex frowned. 'Probable got the wrong number' he thought. The only people he knew with names starting with an S were Sabina and Sam. Sam was still at the basketball practice and Sabina would have written 'our kitchen' not 'your'. He dismissed the thought just as his phones battery died; he had forgotten to charge it overnight. Alex put the phone back in his bag and crossed the street. Standing at the next traffic light, he hummed a tune that was stuck in his head since that morning. From the corner of his eyes, he saw a car speeding towards the crossroad. The car came from the direction he was walking to; it was black and had some kind of emblem on the driver's door. It shimmered silvery in the sun and Alex tried to get a better look at it and the people inside.

In the blink of an eye, the car sped by while Alex looked at the faces of the driver and the person next to him. The world seemed to slow down a bit; he didn't recognise the driver but when he locked eyes with the other person, who wore a satisfied grin on his face, it made his blood run cold.

Pieces were falling into place as he began running towards his home, adrenaline rushing through his veins. Driven by the face of Zeljan Kurst he ran like hell was after him.

 **A/N: First chapter :) tell me what you think or what you want to know or what mistakes I made**


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Alex Rider**

He ran. He ran like he hadn't had in years. Adrenalin was pumping through his veins. His breath came in shallow huffs, his legs were burning. But he kept running.

'No!' his mind was screaming 'Nonononono! This can't be happening! Not now, not ever! Sabina! Liz! Edward! Noooo!'

Zeljan Kurst was meant to be in prison. Arrested by INTERPOL and waiting for his trial; at least that was the last thing Alex had heard of him. So why was he happy and free in San Francisco?

He stumbled while running downhills through a small park, but he caught himself and kept running. He didn't look left nor right while he ran across the streets, cars were honking at him, but he couldn't hear them. His mind was set on his destination. 'Just two more turns. Please be fine!'

He turned at the last corner and ran towards the two story house he had called his home for the last two years. Screaming Sabina's, Liz's and Edward's names, he pushed himself over his limits. He thought he saw Sabina at her window when he was pushed backwards, off his feet, to the ground.

For a minute he saw nothing and heard nothing, everything was tinted in blackness. A moment later he got to his feet, still not hearing, heat burning on his skin, sight fuzzy. 'Heat?' He shook his head, trying to clear his sight and stumbled forward.

The world before his eyes was a raging hell. Flames were consuming the house that held precious memories. Slowly his hearing returned. He heard sirens in the distance and someone was screaming. He realised, when he fell to his knees, that it was him screaming at the top of his lungs. He shut his mouth and felt the tears falling freely down his face.

He stared into the flames, knowing that every help for the people inside the house would be too late. Feeling a hand on his shoulder he looked up into the face of a firefighter. "You ok son?" he asked and Alex nodded before turning back to the burning house. The flames burned high and one nearby tree was already set aflame.

Soon, the firefighter's hand was replaced by the hand of a paramedic. "Come on kid, we need to get you out of here." he said, as he helped Alex to his feet and gently pushed him towards the waiting ambulance and sat him down. Alex saw the paramedic asking him questions, but he couldn't hear him. Everything had gone silent and he felt his world shatter to pieces as his mind caught up with his brain and he realised what had just happened. If he weren't already sitting, he would have surely fallen to his knees again.

Not taking notice of his surroundings, he watched as the fire department tried to keep the flames under control, but the flames were burning mercilessly, leaving nothing in their wake. He snapped out of it once he felt a cup of hot steaming tea in his hands and a blanket over his shoulders. Police officers, paramedics and firefighters were swarming the area, trying to gain control of the situation and keep the people who came to watch the catastrophe at bay.

"Can I talk to him?" he heard a police officer ask a paramedic near him.

"He went into shock a while back, but we gave him something. You can try talking to him." The paramedic answered.

The officer walked over to Alex, sitting down next to him and staring into the flames for a moment before opening his mouth again.

"I'm Officer Adam Peters with the San Francisco Police Department. Can you tell me your name?"

Alex turned towards Peters, only slowly comprehending the question he was asked.

"They were the only family I had left ." he said while he felt the tears streaming down his face again.

"Do you know what happened?"

Alex shook his head. He knew it was probably a bomb but he didn't know what happened or how.

"Can you tell me who was living in this house?"

"Sabina, Liz and Edward Pleasure. They are my family."

The officer nodded. "Let's get you to a hospital and we'll figure everything else out for you, ok?" He stood up and pulled Alex with him into the ambulance. He motioned for the paramedic to get in too. Shortly after, they were on their way towards the nearest hospital.

"I have names of the owners of the house but I still don't know his name." the officer said to the medic.

The other men nodded. "Try again. I want to make sure he hasn't got a concussion, so he will have to stay at the hospital for the night. Should we call CPS?"

"Yes, but I want to get his name first. Maybe there are still some living relatives or emergency contacts listed." The officer turned towards Alex again. "Can you tell me your name or maybe an emergency contact you have?"

The teen shook his head again and the officer sighed.

"Alex Rider." Alex whispered, not trusting his voice.

Officers Peters nodded and put a hand on his shoulder. "Right, Alex, everything will be ok."

'But nothing will be ok' Alex thought. With the Pleasures probably dead, he had nowhere to turn to. No Family left. No home. How could anything be ok? Why was this happening to him? Didn't he leave this whole mess behind him two years ago? Why now? Why the Pleasures and not him? Kurst had the perfect chance to simply shoot him on sight at the crossroad. And why the warning message? He had already figured out that the bomb was probably placed in the kitchen. But he still couldn't wrap his mind around all the whys in the formula.

The medic pulled him out of his thoughts, guiding him through the hospital into an examination room. Alex let the examination happen without complaints and didn't show any emotion on his face when the doctor and medic found his scars. At this very moment he didn't care. He blinked when a light was held to his eyes.

"I think he has a mild concussion" the doctor said. "I'll get Nurse Maddie to take him to an empty room, I want him to stay here for the night. You go and tell Officer Peters the room number."

The paramedic left the room and soon a nurse came in, who guided Alex through the floors into a room with only one bed. She placed a set of clothing in Alex's hands and he changed into them with automatic movements. When he was wrapped in his blankets, Maddie left the room and told him to try to sleep while she got him something to eat.

Alex couldn't remember falling asleep, but when he woke up Officer Peters was next to him, a sad smile on his face.

"Hey Alex. How are you? We have contacted CPS and called your listed emergency number, but we couldn't get in contact with anybody."

Alex nodded and cleared his throat. "My family?" Maybe they weren't at the house at the time or at least not all of them.

"I'm sorry, but we found the bodies of three people. We believe they are the Pleasures. They were your adoptive family, weren't they? I'm sorry for your loss."

Alex swallowed and turned his face towards the window on the other side of the room. The sun had already set and the red was burning at the horizon. He closed his eyes to banish the images of the burning house from his mind. Alex heard the officer moving around.

"I'll be back in the morning with CPS. Good night and sleep well, Alex." He said as he exited the room.

Alex fell into a nightmare plagued sleep, tossing and turning in his bed. Sometime around 3am he awoke screaming and bolting into a sitting position. Nurses came rushing in his room, pushing an injection needle in his arm before he fell into a dreamless sleep. He awoke to a whispered conversation.

"So you are the listed emergency contact of the young Mr. Rider." An unfamiliar female voice asked.

"I am" a men answered. His voice seemed familiar to Alex but he couldn't quite place it.

"Then why weren't we able to get a hold of you yesterday? The number belongs to a company called 'Central Initiative for Agriculture'." The voice of officer Peters asked.

"That would be my business number. I'm am the deputy director, Joseph Byrne. My office informed me of your call this morning and I called back to your office which directed me to Alex's location." Joe Byrne answered, the new information causing Alex to concentrate more on listening in on the conversation happening next to him.

"So you are going to take him in, or…?" the unfamiliar female asked. "CPS needs this information fast as we need to find a new home for Mr. Rider otherwise."

"Oh no, me myself certainly not. I'm in contact with his friends and contacts in Britain, seeing as he is a British citizen. I called one of my business partners this morning – Alex parents and uncle were working with them – and they are sending someone he already knows over here to get him back to Britain."

"Then why were you listed as his emergency contact?" the female – Alex guessed she was with CPS – asked. "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that someone he knows is coming here, but why weren't they listed?"

"As you can probably guess, I'm not too familiar with Alex's life." 'Liar' Alex thought. "But as far as I know, Alex was adopted by a befriended family - that had already moved here - after his whole family had died. He cut all ties with his family's former employing company. And since my company is that company's business partner, my number was listed in case of an emergency. We never thought we would need it." Joe finished with a tint of sadness in his voice.

Alex thought that the heads of the other people in the room must've been swimming by now. He decided that now would be a good moment to make himself known. Shifting his position on the bed he took a deep breath before opening his eyes. All the eyes in the room were immediately on him.

"Good morning Alex. How do you feel?" Officer Peters took a step towards him.

Alex didn't want to answer him. He felt tired even though he just awoken from a drug induced sleep. Furthermore he wasn't feeling up to lying to the man who hadn't done him any wrong. So he just shrugged his shoulders.

Peters had pity in his eyes as he nodded in acknowledgement to Alex's response.

"This is Mrs. Sandra Veilt. She is with the Child Protective Service." He pointed toward the woman behind him. "And this is Mr Joseph Byrne he was listed as your emergency contact. Do you know him?"

Alex didn't know what he should say, so he settled on nodding. Showing that he did indeed know the man. Before Joe could say anything to Alex, Sandra Veilt spoke.

"Alex, please call me Sandra. I'm so sorry for what happened to you. If you need anyone to talk to, I can ask the gentlemen to leave us alone for a bit."

Alex shook his head. He didn't want to talk about what happened just yet and surely he didn't want to talk to a stranger about it.

"What happened to you is quite traumatic. Speaking about it will help you cope with the situation." She insisted.

Glaring at the woman, Alex shook his head more vehemently. Traumatic event? Yes. Speaking about it will help? Most definitely not.

"Alex, could I talk to you in private for a minute?" Joe asked, taking a step in his direction.

Alex eyed him for a second before nodding. He wanted to know what Joe knew and what would happen to him now; and he was sure that Officer Peters and Mrs. Veilt couldn't answer those questions.

Joe looked at the other two adults with a questioning look. Mrs. Veilt looked quite irritated but nodded and left the room. Peters turned to Alex one last time and said "I'll be right outside the door." before leaving too. Alex turned towards Joe as the man pulled the only chair inside the room next to Alex's bed.

"Alex, son, I'm really sorry for what happened and that I couldn't stop it. That was never meant to happen and the agency is working hard to get those responsible."

Alex looked him in the eyes and believed the man. He could see an honest sadness and regret in those eyes.

"Zeljan Kurst." Alex said his first words of the day, making Joe's eyes widening.

"He is here?"

"More likely was, and yes. I saw him yesterday."

"You saw him?" Joe asked sceptically. Alex had seen one of the last board members and overall executive member of SCORPIA and walked away? Highly unlikely.

"He was in a car coming from the direction of my house. And I believe he sent me a message beforehand. Why is he walking around freely at all? Wasn't he arrested by INTERPOL?" Alex asked, trying to reign in his rising anger and frustration in.

"He escaped six months ago. Last thing I know is that he was sighted in Greece a week ago. I didn't know he was or is in the US. If you excuse me for a minute I need to make a call."

Alex nodded and Joe stood up and fished his mobile from his pocket, soon talking rapidly to the person at the other end of the line. When he finished, he sat down next to Alex again.

"What will happen to me now?" Alex asked. He had nobody left and he wouldn't go back into MI6's clutches. He felt his situation was rather hopeless – with nobody left alive and SCORPIA after his life. He blinked a few times until he fought the rising tears down.

"I called MI6 this morning to inform them of your situation. I assure you that they don't want to employ you again – not that I would let that happen. They are going to provide you with a new life and home, together with a protection detail to keep you safe from SCORPIA."

Alex nodded. He wasn't happy to rely on MI6's help, but he trusted their new head Mrs. Jones enough to actually believe that they had his safety in mind. Alex wanted to know more but he was sure that Joe wouldn't be able to give him answers to questions regarding his new MI6 provided life. But maybe he knew who would be coming here to get him. He had said that Alex knew the person who was coming.

"Do you know who is coming from MI6?"

"I think she mentioned someone named Daniels."

Alex was surprised. He hadn't seen Ben Daniels since Australia and wouldn't have said that he knew the men well. Yes, they had been training together and he had finished one mission with him. But he hadn't seen him since. He would have thought they would sent Crawley, whom he had seen quite often in comparison. On the other hand, Ben had taken a bullet for him and shot Ash – not that Alex was overall sad about the fact.

"When will he arrive?" he asked.

"He was to catch the next possible flight so I would guess tonight or tomorrow morning. I have some agents here in the hospital since it is not possible for me to stay with you the whole time. I won't tell your friends outside the door about it, though. I'll be back later together with this Mr. Daniels."

"What is the story? I mean… what happened? I'm pretty sure there won't be any articles in the Chronicle about a bomb explosion in a nice neighbourhood."

Joe looked at him with a thoughtful expression before answering. "Only the people directly present at the time of the explosion know that it was too big for anything but a bomb, and maybe the more experienced firefighters would be able to tell the difference between the signs of a bomb or a gas explosion. Which is the story we told the public. There was a gas leak which was incinerated when someone was lighting up a candle. A tragic accident that killed all family members present."

Alex nodded, thinking that it was probably the most plausible story, when the door opened and Officer Peters popped his head through the door.

"Everything ok in here? You want to have lunch? The nurses are asking."

Alex nodded and Joe stood up motioning for the Officer to come inside.

"Officer… Peters, was it? I need to get back to the office, but I'll be back together with the British gentleman who is coming for Alex. I'm going to inform Mrs. Veilt about everything else and then I'll be on my way. Can I be sure that you'll stay with Alex for the time being?"

Peters straightened a bit. "Of course, sir. I will stay here until your return."

Joe nodded, turning to Alex, saying "See you then, stay out of trouble." before moving out of the room.

Peters looked at Alex with a smile. "So what do you want to eat? I heard they are serving burgers in the cafeteria?"

Alex spent the whole day with Officer Peters. The men took him to the cafeteria, after the doctor checked up on Alex, and got him a burger even though Alex wasn't hungry. Alex knew he needed to eat something but that didn't mean he had to eat the whole thing. They stayed in the cafeteria a bit longer, playing cards that Peters had seemingly produced from nowhere. Sandra Veilt had come sometime between two games and told them that she was leaving and that most of the paperwork was already in working process. In the late afternoon, they were joined by other patients and they were playing poker, using the small sugar packages as coins. Alex found himself enjoying the company as it gave him something to distract him from thinking. When dinner came around and they needed to go back to his room, Alex had won most of the sugar. He talked with Peters about soccer and the Warriors until the Officer said that Alex would need his sleep and left to sit outside the hospital room to give him some privacy. Alex fell asleep rather fast, dreaming of burning houses.

He awoke near sunrise with a gasp and shot up in his bed. He still heard his family screaming in his head, when he saw a movement in the corner of his eye. In the dim light he couldn't make out who was sitting in the chair next to him, so he switched on the small light next to his bed.

With the sudden light shining in his face, the man bolted out of the chair and relaxed as soon as he saw Alex awake.

"Hey Ben."

 **A/N: First of all: Thanks for all your reviews. I'm getting real hyped everytime I get one! Second: What do you think so far? And third: Hello Ben :D**

 **FYI I'm trying to update once a week. So I hope to see you all again next week :)**


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: nope, not mine.**

Ben Daniels wasn't happy at all. Last week, he had successfully completed a mission, with only being shot at twice and only a few other wounds. For reasons he didn't quite understand he was then told to take some desk time before going on the next mission. 'You should give your body some rest' the doctors had said and Ben's bosses thought so too. A few minutes ago Mrs. Jones, the director of MI6, had summoned him to her office. So here he was now, standing in the elevator and thinking about the reason he might be needed at the office of the peppermint loving lady.

The elevator binged, signalising his arrival at his destination, and Ben Daniels, formerly known as Fox, entered the floor leading to Mrs. Jones Office. It didn't matter what position one held, but being summoned by ones superiors without a given reason was scary as hell. He remembered one time, when he was still training with the SAS, his unit was summoned to the sergeants office without being told the reason. They were fidgeting the whole way, thinking they would be binned for one of Eagles pranks. Wolf threatened Eagle to kill him if this was indeed the case. Snake was so nervous, he didn't talk at all. Meters in front of the cabin Wolf had told them to 'man up' and 'face what is to come' and went inside first. Turns out, the sergeant had wanted to tell them that they were allowed to go home for new year's.

Taking one last deep breath, Ben knocked at the office's door and entered after he got the confirmation from inside. He politely greeted the woman behind the dark mahogany desk and sat down in one of the chairs opposite her.

"Agent Daniels, thank you for coming up here." Mrs. Jones said before she popped a peppermint into her mouth. "Do you remember Agent Rider or as you might know him Cub?"

"Yes." Ben answered not showing his confusion. He could never forget the boy he met at the SAS training camp, who could keep up with them quite well. The boy who he had met again a few months later, when Ben had just started working for MI6. He had afterwards learned – thanks to Smithers – that Alex had completed missions before that one. Ben had actually become fond of Alex, who was fighting so well for himself. He couldn't understand how anyone would put a mere child in those dangers but that just increased his respect for the 14 year old. He hadn't seen him again after they had parted ways in Australia – the hospital Ben was staying in didn't let him leave until three days later when his bullet wound was starting to heal. The last thing he knew was that Alex' guardian had died on his last mission and he was then adopted by another family, moving to the US. Ben knew that that mission was the reason for Alan Blunts retirement. His former boss probably wouldn't have let Alex go, but the director's successor Mrs. Jones was against using Alex again at any time and helped in setting everything up for Alex's new – and hopefully better – life at the other side of the ocean.

"He is in the US right now but we have a situation and I want you to get there, protect him and get back here." She said, getting directly to the point.

Ben was rather dumbstruck in that moment. That was definitely not what he had expected.

"May I ask why?"

Mrs. Jones sighed and shuffled some papers to one side of her desk before looking Ben in the eyes again.

"What do you know about his status?" she asked him.

"That he is no longer active and was adopted by a family in the US after his last guardian died."

Mrs. Jones nodded. "That is correct. The mentioned situation changed that. Somebody probably targeted him and placed a bomb in his family's home."

Ben took in a sharp breath. Alex was too young to die. He didn't deserve this. 'So I am required to extract his body and protect it until we are back here.' Ben thought before Mrs. Jones continued.

"His whole family was killed in the blast but thankfully Alex wasn't home yet when it happened. He apparently saw it happen though. Joe Byrne of the CIA is with him right now, but I want you to get to San Francisco with the next flight possible, protect Alex and bring him back here."

Ben breathed a sigh of relieve. It was a tragedy for Alex's adopted family, yes. But he was still happy to hear that the brave boy he met years ago was still alive. After a moment he got suspicious. Jones didn't plan to use Alex again, did she? She was the one to help him get away but maybe that had changed.

"What will happen to Alex once he is back in Britain?"

"We will provide him with a new home and security measures. He didn't survive everything that this agency has thrown at him just to be killed now that he is out of this business. I'm still working on the details but that shouldn't worry you at the moment. You need to go and protect him from whomever is out to kill him this time."

Ben nodded and rose to his feet. He wanted to help Alex, so he would do as he was asked. And it seemed like Jones had shared all information that she herself had at the moment. It certainly wasn't much but Ben wasn't one to complain.

"I give you my word to get Alex here safe and sound."

"I hold you to that" Mrs. Jones said and nodded.

He took that as the sign of dismissal and left the office to get back down to his own. He grabbed his jacket and emergency bag from the corner of his office and left the 'bank' for the airport. The traffic was bad and it took him an hour until he got there.

Three hours after leaving his office he boarded the first plane to San Francisco. There were lots of seats left empty and Ben had a whole row of seats to himself. He forced himself to stop thinking about Alex' situation – he couldn't do anything at the moment after all. A meal and two movies later he shut his eyes to get some hours of sleep in. Next time he awoke he was nearly in San Francisco.

He got out of the security area of the airport to be greeted by a man holding a sign with his name and the words 'Central Initiative for Agriculture' written on it.

'Subtle' Ben thought as he took the last step, before he stood in front of the man. He put on a smile and extended his hand towards the man who promptly took it and began speaking before Ben could introduce himself.

"You must be Mr. Daniels." The man said while giving his hand a firm shake. "I am Joe Byrnes, the deputy director of this company" he waived the sign one last time. "If you would follow me to the car? Then we can directly get to business. "

Without another word Joe took off, Ben hot on his heels. A few minutes later Ben found himself sitting in a sleek black car that drove through the night towards the hospital Alex was staying in.

Directing his gaze back to the other man he decided to get the newest information that Byrnes could offer.

"Can you tell me what happened exactly? All I know is that there was a bomb involved."

"SCORPIA's Zeljan Kurst decided to pay Alex' home a visit. The visit involved indeed a bomb placed in the kitchen. Alex told me he received he message beforehand and that he saw Kurst in a car. He was only meters away when the bomb went off. We told the public that there was a gas leak that was incarnated when one of the family members tried to lighten a candle."

Ben was shocked to say the least. He knew that Kurst escaped INTERPOL but he didn't thought that SCORPIA would go after Alex once again. They were humiliated by Alex and weren't able to fix their reputation afterwards. Most agencies believed that SCORPIA's time was up and that they would disband in the near future. Ben contemplated the news for a few minutes before his thoughts returned to Alex.

"What about Alex? How is he? Jones said you were with him."

Joe nodded. "Yes, I was with him some time around lunch. His doctor said he went into shock for a short amount of time yesterday. Understandable if you ask me. He was quiet and only spoke to give me Kurst's name and to get information from me. I had to leave after my short conversation with him but a young police officer stayed with him and I have agents in the hospital. I told him you're coming." He looked Ben directly in the eyes "And I told him that I wouldn't allow MI6 to use him as an agent again."

Ben nodded. "I assure you that this isn't the case and that I will be the very first to help you to hide Alex from them." He said and he meant it. Joe looked satisfied with that and they continued their way in silence, leaving Ben to his thoughts.

They arrived at the hospital around midnight and Joe managed to get them to Alex room despite the hour. A nurse told them that Alex was asleep and that she wouldn't allow them to wake him up. Joe nodded and told Ben to go inside while he would prepare everything for their return to Britain.

Ben made it into Alex's room without a sound and looked at the sleeping teen in the dark. He looked so very young and peaceful. Not like the former spy he was who just lost the last living people he had called his family. In that very moment Ben Daniels vowed to himself that he would keep an eye on Alex and keep him safe.

He settled in the chair next to Alex's bed, thinking back to his first encounter with the boy. At the SAS camp, where he didn't know what to think of Alex. With the information he had back then, Wolf's theory of 'rich daddy's spoiled son', was the best story they had on the boy. How wrong they'd been. The next time he'd see his old unit he would punch them all.

Ben felt his eyes fall shut, even though he slept on the plane. 'No harm in taking a nap.' Ben thought before he slipped in a trance between awake and asleep that he had learned to use in the time of being in the spy game.

He awoke startled and jumped to his feet, ready to fight off any intruders, when light shone in his face. Searching for the source of his abruptly ended nap, he looked at the face of a very awake Alex. Ben relaxed visibly when he realised that he had awoken because Alex had switched his bedside lamp on.

"Hey Ben." the boy said.

Ben felt a smile tug on his lips.

"Good morning Alex"

 **A/N: only a short chapter… but we get to know Ben better :) A cookie for everyone who reviewed! You're my heroes! Tell me what you think about Ben and this chapter**

 **C u next time :)**


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: still….nope.**

Alex stared at the older man before him. Ben looked tired and exhausted. Even a bit older than the last time he had seen him. 'Well it has been nearly two and a half years…' he thought.

"What happened to you?" Alex asked.

Ben stared back blankly, contemplating if Alex was serious right now. Ben should be asking this question.

"I was on a plane for 11 hours to get here, because your home was bombed and your family was killed and you ask me what happened to me?"

Alex cringed at the mention of his destroyed home, which didn't go unnoticed by Ben.

Ben sighed. "Look, sorry Alex, I think we got off on the wrong side." He ran his hand down his face before he smiled. "You could say I'm a bit tired after being told to come here, actually getting here and then sitting in this comfy chair."

"You look older." Alex blurted out.

Ben grimaced at him. "We haven't seen each other for what? Two or three years? I kind of got older, yes, and you know what the job does to you."

Alex nodded. Yes, he knew. He hadn't forgotten how his life had drastically changed after becoming a spy. The longer he was on the job, the older he felt compared to his peers. Sabina had often told him that she could see those months in his eyes. 'Sabina…' Alex swallowed and fought the tears down; he surely wouldn't cry in front of Ben. He turned his head down as to not look at the older spy, his hands were incredibly interesting at the moment.

"I heard what happened from Mrs. Jones and Mr. Byrnes. So I won't be asking you what happened. I'm here to bring you back to Britain where Jones is working on getting you a secure home. Until we are back home, I'll be staying with you in case SCORPIA wants to make a move."

'Home' Alex thought. Where was that? It was with the Pleasure's here in San Francisco. But they were killed by SCORPIA because of him. Home was with Jack in Chelsea. But she was killed by SCORPIA because of him. Home was with Ian. But he was killed because he was a spy. Home should have been with his parents. But they were killed by his godfather in the name of SCORPIA because his father worked as a spy for MI6. His whole family was involved with the military intelligence and all their loved ones died. The spying business had killed his family and everyone he held dear. Tears crept their way behind his eyes and he blinked vehemently to stop them from falling.

"Alex? Are you ok?" Ben asked. Of course he would have to notice.

Alex wanted to scream at him, that, no, he wasn't ok as a matter of fact. But he didn't. He bit his tongue, held back a glare, took a breath and said. "Yeah, I'm fine. Still a bit tired."

"Sure." Ben said, obviously not convinced. "Do you want to go back to sleep?"

"No, I wouldn't be able to, either way. And I still have a strong dislike of hospitals. I would prefer to leave as soon as possible."

"Not liking hospitals too much myself. They show me the bad sides of the job just too much. Byrnes is arranging everything at the moment."

They sat in silence for minutes. Alex enjoyed the silent company and was thankful that the older man didn't pry. A look at the watch above the door told him it was only five in the morning but he didn't felt like sleeping. He couldn't stand sitting any longer though. Alex shifted his position a few times before he turned to Ben.

"You want to go to the cafeteria?"

Ben nodded. "Sure. Hopefully they have some coffee and maybe we find Byrnes."

Alex changed into his hospital provided clothes in the bathroom while Ben tried to get the stiffness out of his limbs. Falling asleep in a chair wasn't his best idea. Together they silently walked down the floors to the cafeteria that – thankfully – had already opened. Ben tracked down the nearest coffee machine and got two steaming cups of coffee. Alex cradled the cup in his hands and let the warmth seep into his body.

He sipped on his coffee and thought about topics he could talk about with Ben. Alex saw that the man was shooting him concerned looks, but he was sure as hell not going to talk about his feelings or any of the events surrounding the bombing. A few minutes into contemplating it, he realised that he didn't really knew anything about Ben. Training with the SAS and becoming a spy wasn't much.

"Soooo…" Alex started "You are still with MI6?" the second he said it he wanted to bang his head against the table. Of course Ben was still working for them otherwise he wouldn't be here. "I mean, do you still like the job?"

"Yeah, I think I do. I believe I can actually do something good for my country and the world. Especially when I can stop a madmen from creating a tsunami by dropping a giant bomb at the ground of the ocean. It has it's downsides too. Downsides being hospitals and paperwork. Hospitals smell like death and paperwork was invented by the devil. Why should I write a detailed report about why I chose the left entrance and not the right, when I successfully completed the mission. Did you ever have to do the paperwork after your missions?"

Alex shook his head, he never had thought to much about paperwork. He never saw any of it anyway. Mrs. Jones had done it for him probably. Or Crawley, who seemed to be doing nothing else but writing reports.

"Lucky you." Ben said. "I do miss the SAS sometimes, though."

Alex looked at him quizzically. Who would miss a muddy hell and all those grumpy bastards. Oh well, Ben had been one of those bastards too and he wasn't so bad after all.

"Sometimes I really miss working in a unit. Always knowing that someone has your back, not having to do a mission alone. Don't get me wrong, after all I get MI6 provided backup but it just isn't the same."

Alex snorted. MI6 provided backup? From his experience they either were coming in late or didn't come at all. Yeah, Alex could see Ben's point. A thought popped up in his head.

"Do you still have contact with the others? You know, Wolf, Snake and Eagle."

Ben looked at him surprised, he wasn't expecting Alex to ask after the others, being the assholes they were to him while in Breacon Beacon.

"Yes, we are still hanging out sometimes. They have a new unit member now, though. Cobra. We were actually talking about you the other day. Not in any bad way. It was my first time meeting Cobra and we talked about our time in training and how there was a teenager training with us. Did you know that you are quite the icon at the camp? The sergeant likes to shout at the new recruits that they are doing worse than the teenager that had trained under him a few years back."

"Oh yeah, more SAS men who hate me for existing." Alex mumbled, not unnoticed by Ben.

"Alex, I guess I already told you I'm sorry for the stuff that happened back at the camp. I'm not proud of it and it was in no way professional. It was training and everyone was a bit under pressure, but that shouldn't have given us a reason to act towards you like we did. And I promise you that nobody hates you. Don't tell Wolf, but he secretly respects you for what you accomplished in Breacon and he is actually thankful for the little push you gave him on the plane, probably saving his career. What I want to say is, that – if you ever meet the others again – you can punch them in the face but please don't hold their behaviour from back then against them. They really are sorry."

Alex stared off into nothing for a bit thinking about what Ben had said. Nothing he had said was wrong, but he was going to punch them in their faces for sure. He hadn't forgotten that Wolf had sent him a get well card for his 'appendix', he guessed the grumpy man was actually sorry – to a certain degree – and wanted to leave the grudges in the past. Alex was about to answer Ben when a voice rang through the cafeteria.

"There you are! I was getting worried when you weren't in your room." Joe Byrnes walked through the cafeteria towards their table and sat down in a chair next to Alex. "It wasn't easy, but you two are going to leave for Britain today around noon. You're traveling under the disguise of a businessman and his little brother – Mr. Daniels just won't work for the parent look. First class, obviously, in one of those nice, more private compartments. Therefore we are bringing you to the Hilton where you'll find more proper clothing and two suitcases. Two hours prior to your take off, you'll be brought to the airport by one of our agents. He will accompany you until you're through the security checkpoint. After that we have eyes on you. Everything happening once you have boarded the plane is in your hands. Believe me when I say I'm hoping that nothing is going to happen."

Alex and Ben nodded and processed the information.

"Wait! If I'm leaving today, what about the funeral? I'm not going to not attend their funeral!" Alex was getting agitated. Could they really think he would leave his family behind without the chance to say his goodbyes? If they did, those people really didn't know him well. He would take Ben as a hostage if needed; hopefully the older man wouldn't mind.

"Oh you don't have to worry about that." Byrnes said. "The funeral will be held in London in two weeks. The paperwork, shipping and invitation writing will take some time, but your name is at the very top of the list."

Alex approved with a small nod. If he really was under a protection detail, he'll probably have to deal with whomever is looking after him to attend the funeral. Two weeks was enough time for negotiations.

"Why would you say that it wasn't easy? Shouldn't it be relatively easy for you to get Alex out of here? A kid with no family and only contacts in Britain… seems like an easy one." Ben asked.

The deputy director shook his head with a sigh. "Apparently CPS is quite concerned for young Mr. Rider's physical and mental health. It seems they found a few worrying scars on him that must be older than two years and therefore received during his times in Britain. I had to get them a watertight story of an horrendous car accident when Alex was ten and barely survived. Thankfully the doctors didn't take a closer look at those scars to determine their age. So they bought it."

They sat in silence once more, while each of them sipped at their respectable cups.

"One last question." Ben broke the silence. "What about weapons? I have nothing but a small hidden knife. A bit firepower for a worst case scenario wouldn't be bad."

"That, too, was taken care of. In the cars are SIGs and you can hold on to them until you arrive at the airport. It's risky but you won't have a gun until you pass security. Then you will get a Walther PPK each from an agent who is giving out free sample bags. Everything on British soil is up to MI6."

Seeing that the two Brits were satisfied with his answers, Joe Byrne stood and said his goodbyes.

"Well then. I hope everything will work just fine. I'll take my leave now. Somebody will get you in an hour and take you to the Hilton. Mr. Daniels, I'm sure you already know this but - for your own good - I'm hoping to hear from your safe and unharmed arrival in London. Take care of Alex. And Alex-" He turned and looked Alex straight in the eyes. "Stay save and please remember that you can come back to the US anytime you want to. Remember that you have allies on this side of the ocean. Once again, my condolences for what has happened."

"Thank you, Joe. I'll keep that in mind." Alex said with honest gratitude for the man who made his immediate escape from the country possible.

"You have my word Mr. Byrnes. We'll keep you updated." Ben said with a nod.

Joe Byrne nodded one last time before he turned and left the room.

Once again silence engulfed Alex as he emptied his cup. They sat like that for half an hour, each following their own thoughts and enjoying the silent company. By then Alex' doctor and a nurse came looking for them and guided them back to his room where Alex was checked up one last time and got his discharge papers. When they exited the hospital, a sleek black car was waiting for them and an agent greeted them. They stuffed Ben's bag and Alex's school bag, in which Alex's old clothes were packed together with the little he had left, into the trunk. They were silent until they reached the hotel where they hid the guns in their waistbands and thanked their driver.

Alex and Ben were shown to a suite on the 10th floor where they found the promised clothes. They agreed on a breakfast first, before they would take turns using the bathroom to shower and change into their Hugo Boss suits.

Ben figured that Alex appreciated the silence and didn't find it in him to change that fact. If he had any questions he could still ask on their 11 hour flight, which he dreaded. He just got off a plane and now he was going to board the next? 'After this I'll need a nice weekend of vacation to get some sleep in.' Ben thought.

When it was nearly time for their driver to arrive and collect them the room's telephone rung.

"Mr. Kent, your chauffeur has arrived to take you to the airport." The female receptionist answered as Ben took the call.

"Yes, Thank you. Could you send someone to take our suitcases?" he responded.

"Of course, sir. Since you paid for your room in advance you won't need to come to the reception again. You can leave your room key simply at your room. Thank you for choosing the Hilton, sir." She said before she ended the call.

Alex and Ben grabbed their new identities of George Kent and his little brother Paul Kent before seconds later there was a knock on their door. Ben made his way silently to the door to confirm the person in front of it. He opened the door to a small uniformed man who introduced himself as Juan that grabbed their suitcases with a lot of 'Please, sir' and 'Thank you, sir'. They left the key in the room as instructed and made their way downstairs to the waiting limousine. Ben gave Juan a ten dollar bill, when the man finished stuffing their things in the trunk with the help of their chauffeur.

"Thank you, sir. I hope you had a pleasant stay and will choose Hilton again." The man said as he opened the door for Ben and Alex to get into the car. The driver sped off towards the airport only speaking once to inform them about the hiding places of other guns and weaponry in case of an attack.

They got to the airport and through security without incident; the armed chauffeur always staying near to them. Ben and Alex were both tense, anticipating an attack at any moment. After their security check they found a small booth with an Asian looking, petite woman who gave away bags with free samples of creams and lotions. She saw them striding towards the booth and grabbed two bags from behind her desk and waved them in her direction.

"We too have samples for men. There is no shame in taking care of your face and skin from a young age." she said while the two spies took the bags, playing over the fact that the bags were a bit too heavy for just samples. They went into the next toilet to get rid of the additional bag and tugged the small guns in their waistbands.

Boarding the plane first, thanks to the first class fast lane, they sat in their seats. Ben had a watchful eye on the other passengers, but they seemed to be the only passengers in first class on this flight. 'I guess I can thank Mr. Byrne for that. I just have to keep an eye on the partition to second class.'

Their flight took off half an hour later, and while Ben was tense for the whole flight, Alex tried to keep his head from thinking too much and scrolled through the entertaining program. Two meals and five movies later they were on their last minutes on the plane before landing in London in the morning.

Ben took his last chance to talk to Alex in private. "Alex, if you ever want to talk or need help or anything you can call me." He said as he started to scribble down his number on a small paper before handing it to Alex. "In case you ever need a unit I could call K-Unit too." Ben smirked at the look on Alex' face that said 'Highly unlikely and therefore not happening. Like ever.'

"Thanks Ben." Alex said. He knew that the older man had been sent by MI6 but he was still grateful that it was him and not someone else.

Ben smiled and nodded before he turned serious once again. "And if anyone ever tries to recruit you, you call me and I'll give them a piece of my mind and take you personally to a far of country to hide you. I won't let you into this business again, only if you choose to and that hopefully won't happen for years."

The plane touched down in the rainy morning at the airport. The rain was something Alex hadn't really missed. He had been quite happy with the Californian sun. 'Just another thing to add to my Lost-Life-List' Alex thought.

Minutes later they stood, grabbed their stuff and readied themselves to get off the plane. Ben turned to Alex again and locked eyes with the teenager. "You may not think so, but you have a lot of allies here too." He said and patted him on the shoulder before scooting Alex out in front of him.

They rushed through the pass control and got their suitcases as the firsts. Exiting the arrival area they were greeted by yet another chauffeur who hold up a sign saying 'G. and P. Kent'.

'Here we go again' Alex thought and stepped forward.

 **A/N: sorry for the wait my friends. Exams are striking again but I'm trying hard to update every other week. Thank you for all the follows and reviews! I'm feeling really loved :) Tell me what you think about this chapter. And to all the people that are entering exam season: Good luck!**


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